An official visit to Libya was made today by a high-ranking Turkish delegation “on the order of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan”, according to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The delegation led by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu signed an agreement with the Libyan government on hydrocarbons, as the Turkish Foreign Minister himself informed on his Twitter.
Earlier it was leaked that the said agreement would refer to the leasing of the Exclusive Economic Zone of Libya to Turkey for the exploration of oil and natural gas by Turkish companies.
“We discussed the steps towards a political solution and our relations with Prime Minister Dabaiba. We signed Memoranda of Understanding in the fields of Hydrocarbons”, announced the Turkish Foreign Minister, without the content of the agreement being known yet.
Başbakan Dibeybe’yle, siyasi çözüme yönelik adımları ve ilişkilerimizi ele aldık. Hidrokarbonlar ve Protokol alanlarında Mutabakat Muhtıralarını imzaladık.
Met w/PM @Dabaibahamid. Discussed steps for political solution&our relations. Signed 2 MoUs on Hydrocarbons & Protocol.🇹🇷🇱🇾 pic.twitter.com/HWQu0cdskp
— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) October 3, 2022
In his speech, Cavusoglu said, “the agreement on hydrocarbons that we just signed aims to the cooperation between Turkish companies and Libyan companies, for the exploration and drilling, with a mutual cooperation both on land and at sea”, he said.
At the same time, he noted that all “coastal countries” should benefit equally from the Mediterranean.
Athens: “The violation of the Greece-Egypt agreement will not be allowed”
According to diplomatic sources, the issue of the Turkey-Libya agreement on the exploitation of Libyan energy resources by Turkey is being closely monitored by Greece.
The same sources emphasized that respecting the Greece-Egypt agreement on the delimitation of the EEZ of 2020 is absolutely vital. It will not be allowed to be violated and trigger yet another hotbed of tension in the Mediterranean.
In any case, Greece will defend its sovereignty and sovereign rights on the basis of International Law and especially the International Law of the Sea.
The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs is informing allies and partners.
